Economic history
Encyclopedia
Economic history is the study of economies
or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical method
s, statistical methods and by applying economic theory
to historical situations and institution
s. The topic includes business history
, financial history and overlaps with areas of social history
such as demographic history
and labor history
. Quantitative (econometric
) economic history is also referred to as Cliometrics
.
and the University of Cambridge
had numerous disputes over the separation of economics and economic theory in the interwar era. Cambridge economists believed that pure economics involved a component of economic history and that the two were inseparably entangled. Those at the LSE believed that economic history warranted its own courses, research agenda and academic chair separated from mainstream economics.
In the initial period of the subject's development, the LSE position of separating economic history from economics won out. Many universities in the UK developed independent programmes in economic history rooted in the LSE model. Indeed, the Economic History Society had its inauguration at LSE in 1926 and the University of Cambridge
eventually established its own economic history programme. However, the past twenty years have witnessed the widespread closure of these separate programmes in the UK and the integration of the discipline into either history or economics departments. Only the LSE and the University of Glasgow
retain separate economic history departments and stand-alone undergraduate and graduate programmes in economic history. The University of Warwick
now has the greatest number of economic historians working in an economics department anywhere in the UK, but has virtually no PhD students specialising in the subject. The LSE, Glasgow and the University of Oxford
together train the vast majority of economic historians coming through the British higher education system.
In the US, economic history has for a long time been regarded as a form of applied economics
. As a consequence, there are no specialist economic history graduate programs at any mainstream university anywhere in the country. Instead economic history is taught as a special field component of regular economics PhD programs in some places, including at University of California, Berkeley
, Harvard University
, and Yale University
.
In recent decades economic historians, following Douglass North
, have tended to move away from narrowly quantitative studies toward institutional, social
, and cultural history
affecting evolution of economies. have moved away from narrowly quantitative studies toward institutional and cultural history
affecting evolution and development of economies. Conversely, economists in other specializations write on economic history.
economist Irving Fisher
wrote in 1933 on the relationship between economics and economic history in his "Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions" (Econometrica, Vol. 1, No. 4: 337–338): 'The study of dis-equilibrium may proceed in either of two ways. We may take as our unit for study an actual historical case of great dis-equilibrium, such as, say, the panic of 1873; or we may take as our unit for study any constituent tendency, such as, say, deflation, and discover its general laws, relations to, and combinations with, other tendencies. The former study revolves around events, or facts; the latter, around tendencies. The former is primarily economic history; the latter is primarily economic science. Both sorts of studies are proper and important. Each helps the other. The panic of 1873 can only be understood in light of the various tendencies involved—deflation and other; and deflation can only be understood in the light of various historical manifestations—1873 and other."
There is a school of thought among economic historians that splits economic history—the study of how economic phenomena evolved in the past—from historical economics—testing the generality of economic theory using historical episodes. US economic historian Charles P. Kindleberger
explained this position in his 1990 book Historical Economics: Art or Science?. The professional society for economic historians in Europe is called the European Historical Economics Society to reflect this emphasis. Most economic historians today, however, do not make this fine distinction between the two schools of thought and the term historical economics has gone out of fashion somewhat.
The new economic history, also known as cliometrics
, refers to the systematic use of economic theory and econometric
techniques to the study of economic history. The term cliometrics was originally coined by Jonathan R. T. Hughes and Stanley Reiter in 1960 and refers to Clio
, who was the muse
of history and heroic poetry in Greek mythology
. Cliometricians argue their approach is necessary because the inclusion of history is crucial in formulating solid economic theory. Cliometrics is a type of counterfactual history. Some have argued that cliometrics had its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s and that it is now neglected by economists and historians.
The
Economy
An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area; the labor, capital and land resources; and the manufacturing, trade, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area...
or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical method
Historical method
Historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the past. The question of the nature, and even the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised in the...
s, statistical methods and by applying economic theory
Applied economics
Applied economics is a term that refers to the application of economic theory and analysis. While not a field of economics, it is typically characterized by the application of economic theory and econometrics to address practical issues in a range of fields including labour economics, industrial...
to historical situations and institution
Institution
An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community...
s. The topic includes business history
Business history
Business history is the branch of economic history that deals with the history of business organizations, methods, government regulation, labor relations, and impact on society. It also includes biographies of individual companies and entrepreneurs....
, financial history and overlaps with areas of social history
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
such as demographic history
Historical demography
Historical demography is the quantitative study of human population in the past. It is concerned both with the three basic components of population change--fertility, mortality, and migration--and with population characteristics related to those components, such as marriage, socioeconomic status,...
and labor history
Labor history (discipline)
Labor history is a broad field of study concerned with the development of the labor movement and the working class. The central concerns of labor historians include the development of labor unions, strikes, lockouts and protest movements, industrial relations, and the progress of working class and...
. Quantitative (econometric
Econometrics
Econometrics has been defined as "the application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data" and described as the branch of economics "that aims to give empirical content to economic relations." More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on...
) economic history is also referred to as Cliometrics
Cliometrics
Cliometrics, sometimes called new economic history, or econometric history, is the systematic application of economic theory, econometric techniques, and other formal or mathematical methods to the study of history . It is a quantitative approach to economic history...
.
Development as a separate field
Treating economic history as a discrete academic discipline has been a contentious issue for many years. Academics at the London School of EconomicsLondon School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
had numerous disputes over the separation of economics and economic theory in the interwar era. Cambridge economists believed that pure economics involved a component of economic history and that the two were inseparably entangled. Those at the LSE believed that economic history warranted its own courses, research agenda and academic chair separated from mainstream economics.
In the initial period of the subject's development, the LSE position of separating economic history from economics won out. Many universities in the UK developed independent programmes in economic history rooted in the LSE model. Indeed, the Economic History Society had its inauguration at LSE in 1926 and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
eventually established its own economic history programme. However, the past twenty years have witnessed the widespread closure of these separate programmes in the UK and the integration of the discipline into either history or economics departments. Only the LSE and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
retain separate economic history departments and stand-alone undergraduate and graduate programmes in economic history. The University of Warwick
University of Warwick
The University of Warwick is a public research university located in Coventry, United Kingdom...
now has the greatest number of economic historians working in an economics department anywhere in the UK, but has virtually no PhD students specialising in the subject. The LSE, Glasgow and the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
together train the vast majority of economic historians coming through the British higher education system.
In the US, economic history has for a long time been regarded as a form of applied economics
Applied economics
Applied economics is a term that refers to the application of economic theory and analysis. While not a field of economics, it is typically characterized by the application of economic theory and econometrics to address practical issues in a range of fields including labour economics, industrial...
. As a consequence, there are no specialist economic history graduate programs at any mainstream university anywhere in the country. Instead economic history is taught as a special field component of regular economics PhD programs in some places, including at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
In recent decades economic historians, following Douglass North
Douglass North
Douglass Cecil North is an American economist known for his work in economic history. He is the co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences...
, have tended to move away from narrowly quantitative studies toward institutional, social
Social history
Social history, often called the new social history, is a branch of History that includes history of ordinary people and their strategies of coping with life. In its "golden age" it was a major growth field in the 1960s and 1970s among scholars, and still is well represented in history departments...
, and cultural history
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
affecting evolution of economies. have moved away from narrowly quantitative studies toward institutional and cultural history
Cultural history
The term cultural history refers both to an academic discipline and to its subject matter.Cultural history, as a discipline, at least in its common definition since the 1970s, often combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look at popular cultural traditions and cultural...
affecting evolution and development of economies. Conversely, economists in other specializations write on economic history.
Relationship between economics and economic history
Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
economist Irving Fisher
Irving Fisher
Irving Fisher was an American economist, inventor, and health campaigner, and one of the earliest American neoclassical economists, though his later work on debt deflation often regarded as belonging instead to the Post-Keynesian school.Fisher made important contributions to utility theory and...
wrote in 1933 on the relationship between economics and economic history in his "Debt-Deflation Theory of Great Depressions" (Econometrica, Vol. 1, No. 4: 337–338): 'The study of dis-equilibrium may proceed in either of two ways. We may take as our unit for study an actual historical case of great dis-equilibrium, such as, say, the panic of 1873; or we may take as our unit for study any constituent tendency, such as, say, deflation, and discover its general laws, relations to, and combinations with, other tendencies. The former study revolves around events, or facts; the latter, around tendencies. The former is primarily economic history; the latter is primarily economic science. Both sorts of studies are proper and important. Each helps the other. The panic of 1873 can only be understood in light of the various tendencies involved—deflation and other; and deflation can only be understood in the light of various historical manifestations—1873 and other."
There is a school of thought among economic historians that splits economic history—the study of how economic phenomena evolved in the past—from historical economics—testing the generality of economic theory using historical episodes. US economic historian Charles P. Kindleberger
Charles P. Kindleberger
Charles Poor "Charlie" Kindleberger was a historical economist and author of over 30 books. His 1978 book Manias, Panics, and Crashes, about speculative stock market bubbles, was reprinted in 2000 after the dot-com bubble. He is well known for hegemonic stability theory.-Life:Kindleberger was born...
explained this position in his 1990 book Historical Economics: Art or Science?. The professional society for economic historians in Europe is called the European Historical Economics Society to reflect this emphasis. Most economic historians today, however, do not make this fine distinction between the two schools of thought and the term historical economics has gone out of fashion somewhat.
The new economic history, also known as cliometrics
Cliometrics
Cliometrics, sometimes called new economic history, or econometric history, is the systematic application of economic theory, econometric techniques, and other formal or mathematical methods to the study of history . It is a quantitative approach to economic history...
, refers to the systematic use of economic theory and econometric
Econometrics
Econometrics has been defined as "the application of mathematics and statistical methods to economic data" and described as the branch of economics "that aims to give empirical content to economic relations." More precisely, it is "the quantitative analysis of actual economic phenomena based on...
techniques to the study of economic history. The term cliometrics was originally coined by Jonathan R. T. Hughes and Stanley Reiter in 1960 and refers to Clio
Clio
thumb|Clio—detail from [[The Art of Painting|The Allegory of Painting]] by [[Johannes Vermeer]]In Greek mythology, Clio or Kleio, is the muse of history. Like all the muses, she is a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne...
, who was the muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
of history and heroic poetry in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. Cliometricians argue their approach is necessary because the inclusion of history is crucial in formulating solid economic theory. Cliometrics is a type of counterfactual history. Some have argued that cliometrics had its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s and that it is now neglected by economists and historians.
Nobel Prize winning economic historians
- Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic SciencesNobel Memorial Prize in Economic SciencesThe Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, but officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel , is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, generally regarded as one of the...
in 1976 for "his achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy". - Robert FogelRobert FogelRobert William Fogel is an American economic historian and scientist, and winner of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is now the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of American Institutions and director of the Center for Population Economics at the...
and Douglass NorthDouglass NorthDouglass Cecil North is an American economist known for his work in economic history. He is the co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences...
won the Nobel in 1993 for "having renewed research in economic history by applying economic theory and quantitative methods in order to explain economic and institutional change". - Merton MillerMerton MillerMerton Howard Miller was the co-author of the Modigliani-Miller theorem which proposed the irrelevance of debt-equity structure. He shared the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1990, along with Harry Markowitz and William Sharpe...
, who started his academic career teaching economic history at the LSE, won the Nobel in 1990 with Harry MarkowitzHarry MarkowitzHarry Max Markowitz is an American economist and a recipient of the John von Neumann Theory Prize and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences....
and William SharpeWilliam Forsyth SharpeWilliam Forsyth Sharpe is the STANCO 25 Professor of Finance, Emeritus at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences....
.
The
Notable economic historians
- Moses AbramovitzMoses AbramovitzMoses Abramovitz was an American economist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He studied economics at Harvard University and earned a doctorate at Columbia University. In 1945 and 1946, he was economic adviser to the United States representative on the Allied Reparations Commission...
- T. S. Ashton
- Dudley Baines
- Correlli BarnettCorrelli BarnettCorrelli Douglas Barnett CBE FRSL is an English military historian, who has also written works of economic history, particularly on the United Kingdom's post-war "industrial decline".-Personal life:...
- Maxine BergMaxine BergMaxine Berg is Professor of History at the University of Warwick. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.- Selected Books :* Berg, Maxine Luxury and Pleasure in Eighteenth-Century Britain, OUP...
- Ben BernankeBen BernankeBen Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis....
- Fernand BraudelFernand BraudelFernand Braudel was a French historian and a leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects, each representing several decades of intense study: The Mediterranean , Civilization and Capitalism , and the unfinished Identity of France...
- Stephen Broadberry
- Rondo CameronRondo CameronRondo Cameron was an American professor of economic history. He was a native of Texas. He graduated from Yale and received a Ph.D. degree at the University of Chicago . He taught at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1952...
- Sydney ChecklandSydney ChecklandSydney George Checkland was a British-Canadian economic historian.Born in Ottawa, Checkland worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia, then the Ottawa Sanitary Laundry Company, while he gained associate membership of the Canadian Bankers' Association...
- Carlo M. Cipolla
- Gregory ClarkGregory Clark (economist)Gregory Clark is an economic historian at the University of California, Davis.-Biography:Clark, whose grandfathers were migrants to Scotland from Ireland, earned his B.A. in economics and philosophy at King's College, Cambridge in 1979 and his Ph.D. at Harvard in 1985...
- Thomas C. CochranThomas C. Cochran (historian)Thomas Childs Cochran was an American economic historian and a pioneer in that field.Born in Manhattan, he received his bachelor's and master's degrees from New York University before obtaining his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught at N.Y.U...
- Nicholas CraftsNicholas CraftsNicholas F. R. Crafts is Professor of Economics and Economic History at the University of Warwick, a post he has held since 2005. Previously he was a Professor of Economic History at London School of Economics and Political Science between 1995-2005...
- Louis CullenLouis CullenLouis Michael Cullen is an Irish historian, academic and author, specialising in economic history, who has also worked as an Irish diplomat....
- Barry EichengreenBarry EichengreenBarry Eichengreen is an American economist who holds the title of George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1987...
- Stanley EngermanStanley EngermanStanley Lewis Engerman is an economist and economic historian at the University of Rochester. He received his Ph.D. in economics in 1962 from Johns Hopkins University. Engerman is known for his quantitative historical work along with Nobel prize winning economist Robert Fogel...
- Charles FeinsteinCharles FeinsteinCharles Hilliard Feinstein was a noted South African and British economic historian. He was born in Johannesburg, received his early education at Parktown Boys' High School and studied at Witwatersrand University and Cambridge where he completed his doctorate. In 1958, he joined the Department of...
- Niall FergusonNiall FergusonNiall Campbell Douglas Ferguson is a British historian. His specialty is financial and economic history, particularly hyperinflation and the bond markets, as well as the history of colonialism.....
- Roderick FloudRoderick FloudSir Roderick Castle Floud FBA is an economic historian and is currently the Provost of Gresham College. He is the son of Bernard Floud, M.P.-Career:...
- Robert FogelRobert FogelRobert William Fogel is an American economic historian and scientist, and winner of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is now the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of American Institutions and director of the Center for Population Economics at the...
- Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
- Claudia GoldinClaudia GoldinClaudia Goldin is an American economist and Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University.Goldin is a director of the Development of the American Economy Program, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research , located in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
- John HabakkukJohn HabakkukSir John Habakkuk was a British economic historian.-Biography:Habakkuk was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, the son of Evan and Anne Habakkuk. He was named "Hrothgar" after Hroðgar in Beowulf, which his father was reading at the time of his birth...
- Earl J. HamiltonEarl J. HamiltonEarl J. Hamilton was an American historian, one of the founders of economic history, and a prominent hispanist.He was married to Gladys Dallas Hamilton, and had one daughter, Sita Hamilton...
- Eli HeckscherEli HeckscherEli Filip Heckscher was a Swedish political economist and economic historian.-Biography:...
- Eric HobsbawmEric HobsbawmEric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
- Leo HubermanLeo HubermanLeo Huberman was an American socialist writer. In 1949 he founded and co-edited Monthly Review with Paul Sweezy.-Works:* Cuba: A revolution revisited* Vietnam: The Endless War* Socialism in Cuba...
- Charles P. KindlebergerCharles P. KindlebergerCharles Poor "Charlie" Kindleberger was a historical economist and author of over 30 books. His 1978 book Manias, Panics, and Crashes, about speculative stock market bubbles, was reprinted in 2000 after the dot-com bubble. He is well known for hegemonic stability theory.-Life:Kindleberger was born...
- Emmanuel Le Roy LadurieEmmanuel Le Roy LadurieEmmanuel Le Roy Ladurie is a French historian whose work is mainly focused upon Languedoc in the ancien regime, particularly the history of the peasantry.-Early life and career:...
- David LandesDavid LandesDavid S. Landes is a professor emeritus of economics at Harvard University and retired professor of history at George Washington University. He is the author of Revolution in Time, The Unbound Prometheus, The Wealth and Poverty of Nations, and Dynasties...
- Timothy Leunig
- Peter Lindert
- Friedrich ListFriedrich ListGeorg Friedrich List was a leading 19th century German economist who developed the "National System" or what some would call today the National System of Innovation...
- Robert Sabatino LopezRoberto Sabatino LopezRoberto Sabatino Lopez , also known as Robert S. Lopez, was an Italian-American historian of medieval European economic history...
- Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
- Ellen McArthurEllen McArthurEllen Annette McArthur was a British economic historian.She was educated at Girton College, Cambridge, where she later became the Tutor in history. In 1893 she became the first female lecturer at the University of Cambridge Local Examinations & Lectures Syndicate. She was the first woman to...
- Deirdre McCloskeyDeirdre McCloskeyDeirdre N. McCloskey is an American economics professor. Her job title at the University of Illinois at Chicago is Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication...
- Joel MokyrJoel MokyrJoel Mokyr is an American economic historian. He is the Robert H. Strotz Professor of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University....
- Larry Neal
- Douglass NorthDouglass NorthDouglass Cecil North is an American economist known for his work in economic history. He is the co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences...
- Cormac Ó GrádaCormac Ó GrádaCormac Ó Gráda is an Irish economist, a professor of economics at University College Dublin, and a prolific author of books and academic papers....
- Henri PirenneHenri PirenneHenri Pirenne was a Belgian historian. A medievalist of Walloon descent, he wrote a multivolume history of Belgium in French and became a national hero....
- Karl PolanyiKarl PolanyiKarl Paul Polanyi was a Hungarian philosopher, political economist and economic anthropologist known for his opposition to traditional economic thought and his book The Great Transformation...
- Erik S. ReinertErik S. ReinertErik Steenfeldt Reinert is a Norwegian economist, with development economics and economic history as his specialties.-Biography:...
- Christina RomerChristina RomerChristina D. Romer is the Class of 1957 Garff B. Wilson Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and a former Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration...
- W. W. RostowWalt Whitman RostowWalt Whitman Rostow was a United States economist and political theorist who served as Special Assistant for National Security Affairs to U.S. President Lyndon B...
- Murray RothbardMurray RothbardMurray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
- Ram Sharan SharmaRam Sharan SharmaRam Sharan Sharma was an eminent historian of Ancient and early Medieval India. He had taught at Patna University, Delhi University and the University of Toronto and was a senior fellow at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; University Grants Commission National Fellow...
- Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
- Anna Jacobson Schwartz
- Robert SkidelskyRobert Skidelsky, Baron SkidelskyRobert Jacob Alexander, Baron Skidelsky FBA is a British economic historian of Russian origin and the author of an award-winning major three volume biography of John Maynard Keynes. He read history at Jesus College, Oxford...
- Graeme SnooksGraeme SnooksGraeme Donald Snooks is a systems theorist and stratologist who has developed a general dynamic theory to explain complex living systems...
- R. H. TawneyR. H. TawneyRichard Henry Tawney was an English economic historian, social critic, Christian socialist, and an important proponent of adult education....
- Peter TeminPeter TeminDr. Peter Temin is a widely cited economist and economic historian, currently Gray Professor Emeritus of Economics, MIT and former head of the Economics Department....
- Adam ToozeAdam ToozeAdam Tooze is a British historian and was Reader in Modern European Economic History at the University of Cambridge. In 2002, he was awarded a Philip Leverhulme Prize for Modern History. As of Summer 2010, he is a professor of history at Yale University.He is currently best known for his economic...
- Jan de VriesJan de VriesJan Pieter Marie Laurens de Vries was a Dutch scholar of Germanic linguistics and Germanic mythology, from 1926 to 1945 ordinarius at Leiden University and author of reference works still in use today.During the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War, de Vries was part of the...
- Tony Wrigley
- Larry SchweikartLarry SchweikartLarry E. Schweikart is an American historian and professor of history at the University of Dayton. He is the author of more than a dozen books....
See also
- EAEPE
- International Economic History AssociationInternational Economic History AssociationThe International Economic History Association serves as an umbrella organization, which has been established in 1960 and unites economic historians from all over the world. Beside national economic history associations, it welcomes as member organizations also societies, which specialize in a...
- Price revolutionPrice revolutionUsed generally to describe a series of economic events from the second half of the 15th century to the first half of the 17th, the price revolution refers most specifically to the relatively high rate of inflation that characterized the period across Western Europe, with prices on average rising...
- Great DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
- The Great ModerationThe Great ModerationIn economics, the Great Moderation refers to a reduction in the volatility of business cycle fluctuations starting in the mid-1980s, believed to have been caused by institutional and structural changes in developed nations in the later part of the twentieth century...
- History of economic thoughtHistory of economic thoughtThe history of economic thought deals with different thinkers and theories in the subject that became political economy and economics from the ancient world to the present day...
- History of international tradeHistory of international tradeThe history of international trade chronicles notable events that have affected the trade between various countries.In the era before the rise of the nation state, the term 'international' trade cannot be literally applied, but simply means trade over long distances; the sort of movement in goods...
- Economic History Society
- The European Association for Banking and Financial HistoryThe European Association for Banking and Financial HistoryThe European Association for Banking History e.V. was founded in 1990 in Frankfurt, Germany by Professor Manfred Pohl, as a forum for research into the history of banking, insurance and finance...
- Anthropometric historyAnthropometric historyAnthropometric history is a term coined in 1989 by John Komlos to refer to the study of the history of human height, focusing on explaining secular trends, cycles of various lengths and cross sectional patterns by changes in the socio-economic and epidemiological environment.-Development of the...
- The economic history of Europe
- List of recessions
- List of regions by past GDP (PPP) per capita—For historical GDP per capita (purchasing power parityPurchasing power parityIn economics, purchasing power parity is a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates...
) figures from 1 AD to 2003 - List of countries by past GDP (nominal)—For historical GDP (nominal) figures from 1998 to 2003
Journals
- http://www.springer.com/economics/economic+theory/journal/11698Cliometrica: Issue & article links, v. 1, 2007–
- Economic History Review: Issue & article first-page links, v. 1927–
- Explorations in Economic History: Issue & article http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00144983links, v. 7, 1969–
- Journal of Economic History: Issue & article-abstract links, v. 1, 1971–
Articles and lectures
- "On global economic history" by Jan Luiten van Zanden. Explores the idea of the inevitability of the Industrial Revolution.
Professional societies
- Economic History Society (UK), publisher of the Economic History Review
- Economic History Association (US), publisher of the Journal of Economic History
- The European Association for Banking and Financial History e. V., publisher of the Financial History Review
- International Economic History Association (IEHA)
Historical statistics
- Groningen Growth and Development Centre Total Economy Database—Series on GDP, Population, Employment, Hours worked, GDP per capita and productivity (per person and per hour) from 1950 up to 2006
- Global Finance data series
- Historicalstatistics.org—Links to historical economic statistics for different countries and regions.
- Maddison (2006), The World Economy, OECD, Paris.
Recent and forthcoming economic history conferences
- Economic History Society Annual Conference 2010
- Economic History Association Meetings 2010
- XV World Economic History Congress 2009
- XVI World Economic History Congress 2012
- Eighth Conference of the European Historical Economics Association
Economic History Services
- EH.Net Economic History Services—Includes Economic History Encyclopedia, Ask the Professor, Book Reviews, databases, directories, bibliographies, mailing lists, and an inflationInflationIn economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
calculator. - EH.Net Encyclopedia:
- EHE - An Economic History of Europe—For students of economic history, includes links to major databases, technology descriptions, examples of use of data, a forum for economic historians.